My wife is an immortal black snake.

Otherwise, it would be like the absurd thing Miss Northam once saw: a couple had been married for many years without children, and when they went to see a doctor in bewilderment, they discovered that the "door" they had been probing was actually a urination/excretion opening...

"In short, Margarita—look at the lesson I've given you. Tell me, what's the age at which we Blood Demons reach sexual maturity again?"

"—Huh? I, let me see... am I... 90 years old?"

Margarita nodded blankly, then hurriedly opened the textbook Miss Northam had printed for her. She looked at the contents with a puzzled expression, somewhat at a loss.

"To be precise, it's the day you reach psychological maturity. Although our physical sexual maturity is similar to that of other races, girls still need to protect themselves in the outside world, understand?"

"Yes, yes! But, that..."

"Of course, you should refuse if someone offers to help you bathe. After all, a child is still a child—"

"Eh, eh..."

"What's wrong, Margarita?"

"No, it's nothing..."

Margarita recalled how, after she became familiar with Yang Hao, she would often coax him to help her take a bath whenever they lived together.

At the time, she was naive and thought it was a common occurrence in adult society.

So this is how indecent it is in the adult world...

...

But then again...

If she had mustered the courage back then, she would probably be living a very happy life now, wouldn't she? Thinking this, Margarita felt a little discouraged again. She lay on the table, making unintelligible whimpers, and brushed her gray, cumbersome hair to the side with her hand.

Miss Norsen noticed something unusual about Margarita, but she didn't think much of it, figuring it was just the usual confusion a baby has when first learning about such things.

And compared to this...

“Margarita, your training here is actually coming to an end.”

"Eh—huh?"

Margarita blinked, her eyes dry, not expecting her teacher to suddenly utter such a sentence.

"Of course, what I mean is that this place is only helpful to your cultivation. Sigh, how should I put it? It's not enough for you to keenly understand the difference between short-lived ghosts and us blood demons, is it? So that's all there is to it—remember to pack your things later, let's go to the city."

"In the city...? Why?"

“Because only the city has facilities like sanatoriums. It’s too late to leave you passively waiting in the cemetery here—and Margarita, you haven’t spoken to anyone else yet, have you?”

"Yes..."

Since arriving in the small village of Minos, Margarita hasn't had much interaction with people.

On one hand, it was because of her timidity in interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, it was because she had vaguely realized that if she got too involved with the old men or women in the village... perhaps she would see them being buried in the cemetery the very next moment.

Margarita's subconscious was preventing her from harming herself, but growth requires pain, especially for immortal beings.

A dragon slumbering deep in the mountains might lose a princess it had only recently met because of a single nap that lasted over a decade. Similarly, a blood demon might lose its short-lived friend simply because it took a short nap somewhere.

It is precisely because of these unintentional injuries that most blood demons eventually become indifferent to the lives of short-lived creatures, treating them merely as ordinary food or ordinary people—because they know that this way they will not have any connection with the short-lived creatures, and thus they will not feel sad about the short-lived creatures' destined short lives.

The more one fears something, the more one avoids it, and eventually, to avoid being hurt, one simply ignores it. But Mr. Northumbers knew that Margarita's growth could not avoid it.

So... her next spiritual plan has already taken shape. That is to find Margarita a job in a nursing home or retirement home, where she can take care of someone who has a few more years to live but is destined to die.

This may hurt a lot. But the bitter memories that remain will be profound. At that time, Margarita will truly become an immortal being, and only then will Miss Northon be able to teach Margarita the things that belong to the Blood Demon.

"In short, while the courtship period before marriage between us Blood Demons is calculated in [years], this is not the case for Short-Lived Ghosts. If you really want to date a Short-Lived Ghost, then you must be careful..."

"Huh? Is that so? But my mom says it'll take at least ten years..."

"You want ten years, but the person you like will already be that black snake's husband. Those short-lived ghosts don't have that many ten years to play around with us Blood Demons, understand?"

“Yes…” Margarita’s mood immediately sank even lower—yes, Yang Hao has already married that Duke Kosiché, so will there really be a place for her in the future?

"Don't be so sullen! Margarita, think about it from a different perspective. The person you like might live for decades to come, so you still have a chance, don't you?"

Seeing Margarita's utterly dejected expression, Miss Northam almost burst out laughing: For immortal beings, do ordinary people need to abide by social ethics? Of course not!

Who knows, that immortal being has lived for thousands of years, witnessing all forms of marriage from the Middle Ages with polygamy to the modern monogamous system. Would they really care about little Margarita interfering in their marriage? Impossible!

As long as Margarita isn't so concerned about saving face, then it shouldn't be a big problem. Unless...

Unless Margarita's love interest has taken three more wives in Ursus. However, Miss Northumen optimistically believes this is impossible!

After all, as a modern-day short-lived man, he probably adheres to the modern monogamous system...

......

Margarita is diligently practicing her spiritual disciplines, and Miss Northumen is doing her utmost to guide her.

Meanwhile, far away in Columbia, Lady K and her colleagues have completed the first round of infiltration into Ursus. Next, a covert infiltrator named Mr. A will personally travel to the Duchy of Kosiché to carry out an assassination of Mr. Yang Hao.

Chapter 157

On the evening of the 20th.

Yang Hao and Kosiché remained silent, staring at the cell phone they had placed on their pillows, which was buzzing and constantly sending messages.

Monica stood in front of their bed, watching the couple's interaction with curiosity, while secretly glancing at the mirror again.

"...In short, His Majesty's complaints...are all true. This one, and this one, are indeed court jesters. And this one, and this one...are court incompetents, remnants of her father's generation, all talk and no action."

"So what about this one and that one?"

“A mediocre man, yet now in charge of important matters…you understand, right? My husband? What could be worse than having a police captain command an army group?”

"Let a medic command an army group?"

"It's not that bad. In short, I understand Her Majesty Catherine wants to reform her court and improve the domestic economy. But the problem is..."

"Haha... I didn't leave her any leverage, did I? But she just went for it, and there was nothing I could do..."

It must be mentioned that if Koschei were present, Yang Hao would at least be able to determine whether the Ursus emperor was lying. Just like now, when Yang Hao noticed some strange things in His Majesty's speech, Koschei was able to point them out clearly. This not only prevented him from making a wrong judgment, but also deepened the relationship between husband and wife—why not?

...

Just

The more the couple compared the two, the uglier their expressions became, realizing that the emperor seemed to be serious.

“My husband…” Kosichä said with a grim smile, pointing to a message that had just refreshed on his phone screen—the Emperor of Ursus said that she had begun a substantive investigation into the effects of the [work relief] program, but whether it would be effective in other noble territories, or even in St. County Castle, was still unknown. “Her Majesty is trying to use these measures to control and bind you.”

"Trapped me? I have a feeling this way, but I don't know what direct impact these constraints will have on me..." Yang Hao was completely bewildered. Not being a nobleman, he had no idea what strange things nobles would do when they turned ruthless. "From what I see now, as long as I don't reveal these secrets first, it seems there won't be any problems, right?"

In his eyes, the anxieties that the Emperor of Ursus was confiding in him now posed little threat. Their danger only lay in the scenario of Yang Hao betraying the Emperor of Ursus. As long as he didn't make it public, there was actually no problem.

But who is Koschei? She has lived in Ursus for thousands of years, so of course she knows just how insidious this tactic is.

"You don't care now, but what will you do when, in two months, our great Emperor suddenly 'inadvertently' reveals some of the Ursus Empire's core secrets to you?" Duke Kosichä pointed out the Ursus Emperor's slow, insidious manipulation. "By then, it won't be enough for you to 'keep it a secret.' Our Emperor might at any time use a pretext like, 'Now that you know the Empire's secrets, you should stay within the Empire's core,' to respectfully summon you to the inner palace. Then, outside our territory, even if I wanted to do something, I'd have to plan it out carefully..."

"Ah..." Yang Hao's face gradually turned pale. Sometime later, the trustworthy head maid Monica walked up behind him and silently wiped his sweat with a handkerchief.

"Moreover, our great Emperor doesn't just lack capable individuals to share the burden in court, handle state affairs shrewdly, and offer sound advice in important events and meetings. Let me put it this way, our empire is also lacking a crown prince, and you might even..."

"...Wow..." Yang Hao's face turned deathly pale in an instant: this was no joke. Kosichker, a mere kitten [now], was already enough to give him trouble. If that Ursus Emperor, a man of immense strength from Ursus, truly harbored such thoughts, combined with his own seemingly incapable of fathering children with the people of this world...

...If I were really caught, my life would be over there. At this moment, Yang Hao deeply realized the seriousness of the problem. He was extremely anxious and at a loss, and even almost forgot that his [Puppet Stage] could still provide him with advice.

Fortunately, he remembered his abilities. He took a sip of water, his mouth dry, and after quickly replying to the Emperor's message, he immediately used his abilities to try and find a better solution...

[Event: You may die at Saint-Germain Castle.]

Thirty years old.

Unmarried and without heirs.

The jesters under her command were making her extremely irritable, and she had yet to find an outlet for these pent-up emotions.

I think you understand what this means. If you don't want to die young, or go bald by thirty, I suggest you... think of something.

'Wait, I can find the necessary work to keep me in the duchy...'

"Kosice, I might be able to use some excuse—that I have to stay in the Duchy of Kosice—to delay for a year or two."

As expected of the event system I can trust! Yang Hao's mood immediately relaxed, and he began to look for ways to stay in the national policy tree and resolutions.

"So, do you have a good excuse?"

"【Work-for-Relief】?"

"No. His Majesty the Emperor might simply put you in charge of the nationwide 'work relief' program—while I would normally be happy about that, but now..."

Yang Hao tried to use the excuse of "work relief" to stop His Majesty's "invitation," but Duke Kosiché directly denied it: because His Majesty might just use this excuse to put you in charge of "work relief" throughout the country.

In a normal setting, upon hearing such news, Kosice would probably be overjoyed and immediately drag her husband back to the room for a passionate encounter. But in this situation, where His Majesty the Emperor seems determined to steal her husband away, and given that it's almost certain His Majesty won't grant him the chance for immortality...

Would Koschei agree? Definitely not. So, with his cat-like face, Koschei vented his dissatisfaction by tugging hard on his waist with his tail, while also helping to think about what to do next.

"...Why don't we have a baby sooner? That way I can use the excuse of 'accompanying my pregnant wife' and 'educating the child in advance' to delay it for another ten years or so."

"But what about your physical condition? And even if it were feasible, I suspect His Majesty might simply take advantage of my infirmity..."

"hiss..."

Subsequently, Yang Hao tried to dissuade His Majesty from the invitation by mentioning the fact that both he and his wife enjoyed the pregnancy, although his body might not be able to handle it—after all, it's only natural for a husband to take good care of his pregnant wife.

Now that the child has been born, it is perfectly reasonable for the husband and wife to raise the child together. Who can condemn their behavior?

The problem is that Yang Hao's fertility is clearly different from that of people of different races; Koschke is almost incapable of getting pregnant...

Moreover, even if she were pregnant, Koschei, with his millennia of experience, had seen similar situations: some would simply use the excuse, "Your wife is pregnant, why don't you come to my manor as a guest," to summon their barons to the count's palace, only to release them months later, often resulting in an illegitimate child...

...The outcome was that the husband couldn't even walk while his wife was giving birth. Koschke certainly didn't want to encounter such a terrible situation...

...It seems there's no way to stop the practical work-related issues, and it's impossible to succeed in terms of ethical considerations. What should we do now?

Yang Hao's face was covered in cold sweat, and his sweat-soaked face even made Monica feel a little overwhelmed for a while: there were just too many places to wipe the sweat from.

Kosic does have a good solution:

"How about my dear husband, you pretend to go on a business trip to avoid the limelight? I'll have Snake Scale impersonate you, then give you a formal document for an inspection trip to Yan Country. Finally, you'll go with Snake Scale, and before you leave, you'll hand over the documents to him..."

"But the problem is, my job..." This... is a good solution. Even if things go wrong, it'll be Snake Scale who suffers, not Yang Hao. But the problem is, if we do this, Yang Hao can simply say he can't handle his work.

His current job is so important... Even though he has calmed down, Yang Hao is still reluctant to give it up.

"...There's nothing we can do about it. At worst, I'll handle it for you later. Besides, I have many friends within the Empire, and I'll bring up your matter clearly at the Imperial Conference a few months from now." Seeing Yang Hao's distress, Kosichrie could only offer a wry smile, comforting her husband with her tail and paws. "Or perhaps you have a better suggestion?"

"Better suggestions and solutions...? Wait, I don't think I don't have any—"

Just as Yang Hao was about to give up, he suddenly realized that he had a "suitable" plan right in front of him.

That is, to invite nobles to come and visit.

Yes, that's it...

As long as Yang Hao can invite nobles from other duchies to visit, then as the duke's husband, it's impossible for him not to show up.

Whenever nobles from other duchies came to visit, Yang Hao could find countless excuses to decline the invitations from His Majesty the Emperor of Ursus—for example, "I'm going hunting with Duke So-and-so today," or "I'm having a technological exchange with Duke So-and-so today," or "I'm going to beat up Duke Nikolai with the commanders of two other army groups tomorrow," and so on. As long as the nobles came to the Kosichean duchy, everything would be fine!

Moreover, this was all part of the plan: when the nobles grew tired of their visits a few months later and were ready to leave, Yang Hao would invite the Duke of Nikolai's nobles over [using political points to get them to come voluntarily], then let them slip up and cause trouble on their own territory—good heavens, your Nikolai Duchy is insulting our Kosiché Duchy, this is a blatant declaration of war, as the husband of the Duke of Kosiché, I will definitely stay in the territory, ready to fight the Duke of Nikolai to the death, don't you think?

Even if the Imperial Council came to dissuade him in a bewildered manner, Yang Hao was confident that he could stall for a few more months—not only could he stall for a few more months, but once the Imperial Council had dealt with the matter more thoroughly, he would expose all of Duke Nikolai's bizarre cannibalism, the existence of his madman's diary recording the taste of countless cannibals, and the so-called "Sherlock Nightclub" that he and other nobles had jointly established.

Good heavens, how can Yang Hao accept the Imperial Council's ruling? How can the other Ursus nobles, who are still [or at least human], accept the Imperial Council's ruling? Then this meeting will be extended for several weeks. After all the evidence is collected, it will probably be the time for the entire Ursus Empire to wage civil war to purify those cannibalistic perverts.

With this war, you know what I mean? The emperor is far away, and he can't just come directly to...rescue me, can he? This has dragged on for several more months, making it over a year in total. If His Majesty still has patience...

...

Yang Hao then went to find the deep-sea hunters and the ladies along the coast. He planned to go with them to the coast and collect the [string] for his ascension. After a few years, he would return home and wait until His Majesty the Emperor was old and had lost interest in procreation. That would be the end of it.

Of course, Yang Hao might not actually need so many major events to drag things out for so long. After all, the allied cities would also come to trade, and there were other miscellaneous matters that could also buy him time... In conclusion, as long as he could get the nobles to come as guests first, Yang Hao could use the strategy of "delaying" to keep the matter going until His Majesty the Emperor lost interest!

"But isn't this a bit too much..."

Duke Kosiché listened to Yang Hao's plan with a headache. The plan was generally sound, but if things dragged on like this, it might backfire: His Majesty the Emperor might openly seize the person, disregarding all pretense of civility. What would Yang Hao do then?

In response, Yang Hao could only say that he would lie on the ground like a salted fish, letting His Majesty the Emperor do as he pleased.

and.

"If you, Kosich, feel that dragging this out won't work, we can try another plan."

"what?"